A 23-year-old Chippenham man has today pleaded guilty to the murder of Russell Nixon.

Russell, aged 38, of Derby Close, Chippenham, was killed in London Road in the early hours of May 10, 2017.

Matthew Chapman, of Wood Lane, was charged with his murder and today (November 2) pleaded guilty at Bristol Crown Court. He will be sentenced on 14 November.

At approximately 12.20am on 10 May, officers were called to an initial report from members of the public who had been woken by a disturbance in the street.

When officers attended, they found Russell lying on the ground with significant head injuries. Sadly, he was pronounced deceased by paramedics at the scene.

Matthew Chapman admitted a charge of murder

Within an hour, officers carrying out an area search were able to locate Chapman nearby and he was arrested.

Detective Inspector Jim Taylor, of the Brunel Major Crime Investigation Team, said: “Firstly, I would like to express my sincere condolences to the family of Russell who are struggling to come to terms with this tragic and sudden loss.

“It was evident from the injuries sustained that this was a violent and horrific attack which occurred in the early hours of the morning.

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"The disorder happened close to a number of houses and many residents were awoken by the tragic incident. I am thankful to the member of the public who alerted police so quickly. Combined with the local knowledge of community policing team officers, we were able to swiftly make an arrest and ensure evidence was preserved which was crucial to the case.

“This incident understandably had a huge impact on the local community – Chippenham is a quiet town and incidents like this are rare. Violence of any kind will not be tolerated within our county and we will do all that we can to ensure violent individuals like Chapman are put before the courts and brought to justice.”